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Be Open (Art Print to benefit the ACLU now available!)

Posted by
Melissa Wert
on February 08, 2017

I feel it coming, friend. The goodness. The kindness. The love. The hope. The light. The peace. The forgiveness. The relief. The exhale.

I don't know when it will get here. I don't know how much more work we have to do before it embraces us and we breathe a collective sigh of relief (although I imagine, quite a bit). I don't know how many more protests or dollars or sleepless nights or tears it will take. But I feel it. In my heart and in my head and in my bones and in my gut.

Love will win.

Keep working. Keep standing. Keep shouting. Keep looking. I know it's out there, just beyond where we can see and feel and reach. Don't stop looking.

Open heart. Open mind. Open eyes. Open hands.

This print was created in a moment of darkness and fear for the world we're creating for our children. How, I wondered, can I teach my son to be a kind and loving person when the world around him seems so intent to teach him otherwise.

I decided, then and there, that this is what I would teach him. And if I succeeded at these four ideals, then as a parent, I will have succeeded.

An open heart. To allow myself to accept and embrace what I feel, even when it's deep, and even when it hurts. To have empathy for others. To not allow "not my problem" to be not my problem. To let others in.

An open mind. To understand all sides of the issues, and to not jump to conclusions. To do my best to strip away the bias and to see things how they truly are. To be thoughtful in my actions and my words, and to understand how they might unintentionally hurt others.

Open eyes. To truly see what's happening in this beautiful but broken world of ours. To step outside of my bubble and understand the issues we're really facing. To try to strip away the filter of my privilege so that I can acknowledge the reality of others.

Open hands. To do the work that's needed. To pull others up. To embrace those - anyone - who needs it. To hold the pain and grievance of those who carry it.

Open heart. Open mind. Open eyes. Open hands. This is how I will start to make change, starting with one tiny boy.

All profits of this print are being donated with love to the
ACLU. If you'd like one of your very own, we'd love to send on to you.